Ala Moana Center mirrors modern Hawaii

“Ala Moana” may mean “ocean street” in Hawaiian, but when you add “Center” to it, and ask Hawaii Insider readers about it, prepare for a trip down memory lane. The Honolulu mega-mall opened on Aug. 13, 1959, eight days before Hawaii officially became a state, and its ambitious growth over the last 50 years has mirrored that of modern Hawaii, for better and for worse.

The Ala Moana Center burst upon the scene as the largest shopping center in the nation — a source of pride for many in the islands — with a lineup of stores that reflected its diverse local culture, Oahu’s small-town origins and big-city aspirations. Eleven of the original merchants remain: The Crack Seed Center (home to yummy mochi and pearl drinks, too), Dairy Queen, Foodland, Longs Drugs (good for souvenirs as well as necessities), Reyn’s (the alohawear of Reyn Spooner), Sears, the Japanese-themed department and specialty food store Shirokiya, Territorial Savings Bank, The Slipper House (the thong sandals, not the bedroom kind), a U.S. Post Office (offering a special cancellation stamp on Aug. 31), and Watumull’s, another island-grown alohawear retailer.

Jeanne Cooper

Mmm, strawberry mochi from Ala Moana’s Crack Seed Center.

Today, high-end boutiques, chic nightclubs and gourmet restaurants are also part of the mix, and though it no longer tops the size list (thankfully), it’s still a full-day diversion for retail-savvy visitors (you know who are) and residents. It’s no mean feat to pull tourists away from Waikiki, or the more verdant pleasures of the North Shore or Windward Side, but it helps that Ala Moana is served by a dedicated shuttle (the Waikiki Trolley’s Pink Line) rolling out about every 10 minutes for $2, not to mention numerous lines of The Bus. And for those who don’t like to shop or are on a tight budget, it’s still fun for people-watching and food-sampling, with a busy lineup of free entertainment — including hula troupes and some big names in Hawaiian music — at the mall’s Centerstage. (Click here for the schedule of anniversary-related performances, which run through Aug. 31.)

Reader Terry Bowman of Birmingham, England, was just a little girl when her family left Honolulu for the Bay Area, back in 1966, but she recalled her mother “talking about shopping for nice muumuus at Liberty House,” Hawaii’s leading department store chain, taken over and renamed Macy’s by the latter’s parent company in 2001. And she still savors some of her own Ala Moana memories: “I remember eating malasadas from the food court in the shopping center. Best to get them fresh and warm!”

Carol Siegal of Orinda, who growing up was “lucky enough to go to Waikiki every year at Christmas time with my mother and father,” has fond memories of the mall, plus one warning for “slippah” wearers:

We always made a foray to the Ala Moana Center by The Bus, picking it up on Kuhio Avenue, usually walking back after if we didn’t have too many packages to carry. Dinner was at one of the fast food joints down in the bowels of the center, where I tasted and hated my first poi. (My tastes have since improved!) Shirokiya was really special to me: I always remember they were offering trial ‘P Shines’ for your fingernails. We fought the crowds on December 26th at the Liberty House sales.

There was one funny memory that has stuck all these years … There was a guy who had one of his rubber “slippahs” come off near the end of the escalator, and oddly it got sucked into where the moving stairs recede into the top, never to be seen again! Needless to say, he looked completely taken by surprise.

Siegal also shared her nostalgia for simpler times: “As fashion forward and high end as the mall has become, I kind of miss the old place from the 1960s and ’70s!”

Ann Reid Slaby of Berkeley seems to concur, writing, “I find the ‘modern’ Ala Moana Center far too large for my taste when I visit HNL.” But she offered some statehood-era memories of the center, including hearing Elvis Presley for the first time at the Ala Moana Woolworth’s:

No longer was it necessary to go downtown to go to Woolworth’s. (Woolworth’s downtown was one of the first places to serve pizza.) But very interestingly, the streets to go to Ala Moana Shopping Center arrived long before the shopping center was built — good lesson for a young person.

Unfortunately some wonderful stores have disappeared. Once upon a time a person could find a muu muu at many stores, but spandex has become fashionable (give me a break — spandex is hot! muu-muus cut on the bias are cool). The only place to find a reasonable muu muu is not at Hilo Hattie’s but at Sears.

Vintage fashion displays are part of the Ala Moana Center’s 50th anniversary events, through Aug. 31.

Shopping at Ala Moana today is also a family affair for reader Fred Siy of Hillsborough: “My daughter loves to watch the koi when waiting for Mom to finish shopping and she enjoys trying all the flavors of the mochi ice cream at Shirokiya.”

Not everyone goes to Ala Moana just to shop: Jeannie of San Francisco recommends the Neiman Marcus parking lot at Ala Moana for watching fireworks, such as the spectacular Fourth of July show (the state’s largest) at Magic Island. Of the original stores, she wrote, Shirokiya is also her favorite.

Thanks also to readers Thomas Chau of Moraga and Mary Mullen of Monterey for correctly identifying some of the original stores. Update: Some of the newest include Lego (opened this month, complete with a Lego beach scene and Lego surfboard displays), Aeropostale, Miu Miu, Kate Spade, Salvatore Ferragamo and a host of others in the new Nordstrom wing; those seeking a more Asian-Pacific-flavored experience can now check out Lin’s Hawaiian Snack, Animation Addict (accessories and apparel from Harajuku Lovers, Hello Kitty, etc.) or Goma Tei Ramen restaurant.

Speaking of dining, lthough some of the other restaurants are typical tourist fare or otherwise unexciting chains (Bubba Gump, Macaroni Grill et al.), Ala Moana does boast a Tsukiji Fish Market and Restaurant (an offshoot of Tokyo’s famous market) and the hidden gems of Macy’s Pineapple Room (overseen by chef Alan Wong) and Neiman Marcus’ Mariposa, another local favorite, as well as inexpensive food icons such as Zippy’s,Osaka Okazuya and Ba-Le Sandwich Shop (all in Sears). And don’t forget the #1 Bento kiosk serving Korean bentos on the Kona Street side. If you leave hungry, you haven’t really been to Ala Moana.